The Road Less Traveled
by Mistress of Darkness2
Summary: Mitch is gone, but Natalie's in the hospital after Cristian finds her. Secrets come out, though, and new relationships seem to flare up. (First chapter/first OLTL fic! Please R&R!)


Antonio made his way through the people that had gathered in the waiting room; everyone anxious to know what had happened to Natalie. She had been founding the shed of the farm with Mitch Lawrence and Victor Lord, but Cristian and the rest of the police force had been successful in saving her before anything serious had happened. She had been found unconscious, however, and while they all waited for the ambulance to come for her, no one could get her to wake up: she was completely out of it. Cristian had come along with her in the ambulance while Antonio had had to stay in the shed to make sure every bit of evidence was taken and nothing was left unchecked. It had been longer than two hours, and in all that time no one had informed her of anything.  
  
Once he got to Natalie's family, though, when he saw Jessica at the verge of tears made his heart break and something inside of him flutter. He knew what it was to have a sibling in danger and in the emergency room, and he could only hope that Natalie could be ok. If she wasn't, it wasn't only Cristian who would suffer; it would be everyone else who cared for her. Touching her shoulder gently, he talked in a low voice, "Jess? How's Natalie?"  
  
Jessica turned to him and, at the question, a tear slipped out. "We don't know, Antonio. Troy hasn't said anything. Oh God, I hope that she'll be ok. I have this.feeling that she's not. That she's not. That something."  
  
Shaking his head, Antonio smiled slightly but reassuringly at her. "Hey, hey. She'll be alright. She's a strong girl, you know that." Smiling slightly, he wrapped an arm around her. "She'll be perfectly fine."  
  
At the secure embrace, Jessica hugged him and buried her face in his shoulder. When he felt Antonio hugging her back, she sighed. She didn't fully realize what she was doing until she pulled back slightly. "Thanks, Antonio. I'm sorry, I just."  
  
"No, no, it's ok. Really." Smiling, he wiped her tears away. "Do you know where Cristian is?" Once he saw Jessica's look of worry again, he frowned in concern. "What happened? Where's Cristian?"  
  
"Well. Antonio, while they were loading Natalie on the ambulance, Mitch tried to escape from the cops that were taking him away."  
  
Antonio felt how his heart flipped in worry. "What happened to him?"  
  
"They caught Mitch, but as Cristian tried to help to keep him settled, his wound opened up again. He shouldn't have, but you know how your brother is."  
  
"Yeah, a major hot head." Sighing, Antonio nodded and looked down. "But he'll be alright, right?"  
  
"Oh yeah, it's nothing serious. It's just that they had to put stitches again. Let's just.hope that everything turns out for the better.  
  
~~~  
  
"Cristian? Cristian, please, wake up; I need to talk to you."  
  
Almost immediately, Cristian woke up and sat up straight, blinking back the drowsiness that had suddenly taken over him. He had been sitting next to Natalie, holding her hand as she slept on the hospital bed that she bad been put on after she had been brought from the farm where Mitch had her. Looking up at the voice that had woken him up, he saw Troy standing on the other side of the bed, checking Natalie's pulse. "Troy? What's wrong? Is there something wrong with Natalie?" The minute that the doctor had sewn up his wound again, he refused to stay in a room, so he had gone over to Natalie to at least be with her.  
  
Troy turned to Cristian before looking down at Natalie again. After checking a few routine things that he needed to be checking, he turned to Cristian again and motioned for him to follow him outside. Cristian looked down at Natalie and sighed. He didn't want to leave her. In the back of his mind, he was afraid that she wouldn't be there when he came back. But Natalie's health wasn't as great as he had hoped it would be, and that was why she had to stay in the hospital. Sighing, he kissed her forehead gently before settling her hand down. Whispering, he caressed her cheek; making small circles on her cheek with his thumb. "I'll be right back, Natalie. I love you." Kissing her forehead again, he stood up and went outside with Troy. "What's wrong, Troy? Is Natalie ok?"  
  
Staying silent for a while, Troy looked at Cristian. "Cristian. Natalie was heavily sedated."  
  
"And what happened to her? She'll be ok, right?"  
  
"They were really heavy drugs that they gave her, Cristian. They were practically going to send her in a coma with that many drugs in her, so she would be able to die faster for the heart to be theirs."  
  
Anger started to build again inside of Cristian. Hate and anger towards Mitch and even Victor was making his arm hurt, and even if his arm was in a sling and it hurt, he started to make fists with his hands.  
  
Troy continued to talk, "But we're trying all we can to help her and to not endanger her life. Neither her life nor the baby's that she's expecting."  
  
At that, Cristian snapped out of his thoughts. "B. Baby.? Wh."  
  
When Troy noticed his surprise, he smiled slightly. "I know that this isn't the best way to tell you, but. Yeah, Cristian. Natalie's pregnant." 


End file.
